How
Drones can help
By Teena Lowery
with photos by Teena Lowery and Abby Coers |
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[November 05, 2015]
In
the ever-changing world where technology and agriculture are
constantly intertwined these days, there is yet another piece of
cutting-edge equipment that is really peaking the interest of
farmers. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or more commonly known
as a drone, is quickly becoming a friend and a valuable asset to the
farmer. The benefits of using a drone are growing rapidly,
particularly in the agriculture sector, because a farmer’s field is
a perfect setting to fly one of these small gadgets.
Current criteria is set by the Federal Aviation Administration to
fly a drone - you must be five miles from an airport, you are not
allowed to fly above 400 feet and you must be away from a populated
area.
Flying a drone over a field, farmers not only get an awesome aerial
view of their fields, but they can also use the camera attached to
take pictures and video that can provide them with useful
information.
Abby Coers, Marketing Coordinator for Central Illinois Ag in
Atlanta, has been flying a DJI Phantom 3 Vision Quadcopter all over
fields in Illinois lately and she is excited about the future of
this hobby. “Right now it’s just for hobby and recreation. I am
putting it up and getting awesome photos and videos that a
helicopter could take for thousands of dollars but you can put it up
in ten seconds and get a photo.”
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Coers continued, “Advantages in the future, when we can make
decisions based on that, would be anything for the crops, like crop
health. Put it up and see where there are wet spots, where you need
to work on that field. Do you need tiling in the field? With tiling
that is a large expense in the future that could pay for itself.”
Talking about the amazing photos and videos that the Phantom 3
can capture with its 4K camera, Coers added, “You can see where you
need to place the nitrogen or what products best place the nitrogen.
What ‘s better for your field, for your farming practice? Our
Phantom 3 Drone costs $2400 and so if you spend $2400 you are
putting it up and within seconds making a decision that could save
you several other thousands of dollars. You are basically saving
money by making those decisions that you cannot see at ground
level.” Coers believes the decision-making process is the best thing
in the future for farmers concerning this technology.
 Local insurance agent Perry Grieme was one of the first to have a
drone in Logan County and he also sees the benefits of using a drone
as a free value-added service in his business. “I’ve always flown
remote-controlled airplanes, so a drone was a natural for me because
I enjoy it. With the crop insurance, if there is a hailstorm or a
windstorm and the corn is tall and you cannot walk through it
because it is so thick, we can fly that drone over the field and
find out where the damage is so then the adjuster can go to that
spot to make his counts to see how big a claim there is. It’s going
to save a lot of time and it’s going to do a better job of
adjusting. This way we can fly over the whole field. We can take the
drone and find out exactly where the damage is and make a video of
it.”
Grieme also pointed out that drones could help livestock farmers in
addition to grain farmers. “Mainly, the more sophisticated drones
will have infrared technology where a farmer could fly over a field
and it will show where there is insect pressure or a fertilizer
deficiency because it will show the different colors. For people
that have cattle, you know some people will run cows out along a
creek and you can fly this drone and find out where all your cattle
are. If you have a calf missing you can take the drone and fly out
until you find the calf and then go get it.”
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Grieme noted that the drone will never replace people as far as the
work is concerned. “If a drone finds a calf, the farmer still has to
go out and get the calf. It’s just another tool in your toolbox to
use and as things go on there will be more and more applications,”
he said.
Grieme is also impressed with the quality of the cameras on the
drones. “With the technology they have now the GoPro cameras that
are on these are unbelievable. It’s almost professional quality. I
saw a video where they flew a drone out over a field as the crop was
just emerging and then when it got a little higher they did a
time-lapse. I mean you can get as creative as you want to.”
As an avid enthusiast of flying the remote-controlled airplane,
Grieme says the drone is easier to fly but you do need training to
operate one. “You have to have a little training. It’s a stationery
object. You can get them now where they will hover over one spot in
the field and you can take your hands off the controls and it will
just stay there. And if it gets way out there in the field you can
just push a button and it will return to you,” he noted.
Grieme also emphasized people must use common sense and act
responsibly when operating a drone, “It’s like anything else, it’s
something that you want to make sure you take responsibly and
seriously.” While Grieme is the only one who has operated his drone,
he says, “If somebody wanted me to teach them how to fly I’d be more
than happy to. In a half an hour I could have them flying.”
Coers agrees with Grieme and says, “It’s super-simple to fly.” She
also likes all the new safety features and is particularly fond of
the home button that Grieme alluded to. The home button is a safety
feature that allows the GPS system on the drone to find its way back
to the person holding the controls. Coers mentioned that the DJI
Phantom 3 Vision Quadcopter could travel as far as 1.2 miles from
the person flying it.
Both Grieme and Coers also concur that these devices are for
recreational purposes only.
If you are interested in owning a drone you can contact Central
Illinois Ag. Earlier this year, CIA partnered with Flying AG, a
leading-edge agricultural imagery business founded by leaders in the
agriculture industry. When you purchase any of the Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles that CIA offers, you will also get a hands-on training
session and additional batteries and storage.
According to news reports, drones are expected to be a popular
Christmas gift, with an estimated 750,000 to be sold this year.
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